Tin oxide thin film spacers in semiconductor device manufacturing

ABSTRACT

Thin tin oxide films are used as spacers in semiconductor device manufacturing. In one implementation, thin tin oxide film is conformally deposited onto a semiconductor substrate having an exposed layer of a first material (e.g., silicon oxide or silicon nitride) and a plurality of protruding features comprising a second material (e.g., silicon or carbon). For example, 10-100 nm thick tin oxide layer can be deposited using atomic layer deposition. Next, tin oxide film is removed from horizontal surfaces, without being completely removed from the sidewalls of the protruding features. Next, the material of protruding features is etched away, leaving tin oxide spacers on the substrate. This is followed by etching the unprotected portions of the first material, without removal of the spacers. Next, underlying layer is etched, and spacers are removed. Tin-containing particles can be removed from processing chambers by converting them to volatile tin hydride.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to patterning methods in semiconductor devicemanufacturing. Specifically, this invention pertains to methods of usingthin tin oxide films as spacers in semiconductor processing.

BACKGROUND

In integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, deposition and etchingtechniques are used for forming patterns of materials, such as forforming metal lines embedded in dielectric layers. Some patterningschemes involve the use of spacers that enable precise patterning andformation of small-scale features. Spacers are formed on a substrate,such that they are separated by defined distances (typically determinedby previous patterning), and are used as masks for patterning ofunderlying layers. The materials of spacers and of surrounding layersare selected to have appropriate etch selectivity that would enable bothformation of spacers, and patterning of underlying layers. After thepatterning is completed, the spacers are removed by etching, and are notpart of the final fabricated semiconductor device.

Spacers are used for patterning in a variety of applications, includingformation of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), patterning fins in finfield effect transistors (finFETs), and in back end of line (BEOL)processing.

SUMMARY

It was discovered that many spacer materials, such as silicon oxide, ortitanium oxide, give rise to pitch walking and/or particle contaminationproblems during patterning. For example, silicon oxide is characterizedby relatively low etch selectivity relative to many materials commonlyused in semiconductor processing, which necessitates the use of thickerspacers. This, in turn, leads to inconsistent lateral spacer sidewallconsumption across the way, and ultimately might result in pitch walking(inconsistent distance between spacers). When titanium oxide is used asa spacer material, etch selectivity can be adequate, buttitanium-containing particles may contaminate process chambers. Forexample, titanium fluoride particles can contaminate etching chambersafter fluorocarbon plasma etch. This leads to the necessity of frequentetching chamber cleaning and to decreased productivity.

These problems are herein addressed by using tin oxide as spacermaterial. Tin oxide has a high modulus, which correlates with good etchselectivity that is needed to reduce pitch walking and edge roughness.Furthermore, unlike titanium, tin forms a highly volatile hydride, whichcan be easily removed from the process chambers. Thus, in someembodiments provided processing methods involve converting anytin-containing materials (such as tin fluoride) to tin hydride (e.g., byplasma treatment in a hydrogen-containing process gas), and removing theformed volatile tin hydride from the process chamber via purging and/orevacuation. The cleaning process that removes tin-containing particlesfrom chamber interior can be performed in etch or deposition chambers,typically in an absence of the substrate.

In one aspect of the invention, a method of processing a semiconductorsubstrate is provided. The method includes: providing a semiconductorsubstrate having an exposed layer comprising a first material and atleast one protruding feature comprising a second material that isdifferent from the first material; and depositing a SnO layer over boththe first material and the second material, including sidewalls of theat least one protruding feature. The first material and the secondmaterial are selected such that a ratio of an etch rate of the firstmaterial to an etch rate of SnO is greater than 1 for a first etchchemistry, and a ratio of an etch rate of the second material to an etchrate of SnO is greater than 1 for a second etch chemistry. For example,in some embodiments the first material is silicon oxide and/or siliconnitride, and the first etch chemistry is a fluorocarbon plasma etch. Thesecond material, in some embodiments, comprises amorphous silicon and/orcarbon, and the second etch chemistry is an oxidative oxygen-containingchemistry (e.g., plasma treatment in a process gas comprising HBr andO₂).

In some implementations, the substrate comprises a plurality ofprotruding features, and the distance between closest protrudingfeatures before deposition of SnO is between about 10-100 nm. In someimplementations the distance between closest protruding features isbetween about 40-100 nm. In other implementations, the distance betweenclosest protruding features is between about 10-30 nm. In someembodiments the SnO layer is deposited conformally, e.g., by atomiclayer deposition (ALD) to a thickness of between about 5-30 nm, such asto a thickness of between about 10-20 nm.

After the SnO layer has been deposited, spacers are formed from the SnOlayer. In some embodiments formation of spacers involves: afterdepositing the SnO layer, completely removing the SnO layer fromhorizontal surfaces of the semiconductor substrate without completelyremoving the SnO layer covering the sidewalls of the at least oneprotrusion. This is followed by completely removing the at least oneprotrusion using the second etch chemistry, without completely removingthe SnO layer that was covering the sidewalls of the at least oneprotrusion, thereby forming SnO spacers.

After the SnO spacers have been formed, the process can continue byremoving exposed portions of the first material using the first etchchemistry (e.g., using plasma fluorocarbon etch), without completelyremoving the SnO spacers, thereby exposing portions of a hardmask layer,underlying the first material layer. The process may follow by removingboth the SnO layer and exposed portions of the hardmask layer withoutcompletely removing the layer of the first material that resided belowthe SnO layer.

The semiconductor processing methods, provided herein, in someembodiments involve converting tin-containing particles remaining in theprocess chamber to tin hydride after any of the deposition and etchingoperations provided herein. This conversion is performed by exposing theprocess chamber to a plasma formed in a process gas comprising ahydrogen-containing gas. In some embodiments the hydrogen-containing gasis H₂ and/or NH₃. In some embodiments, the etching chamber is cleanedafter fluorocarbon plasma etch by converting the tin-containingparticles (e.g., tin fluoride) to tin hydride, and by removing volatiletin hydride from the etch chamber.

In some embodiments, the methods provided herein are used in combinationwith photolithographic processing and include: applying photoresist tothe semiconductor substrate; exposing the photoresist to light;patterning the photoresist and transferring the pattern to thesemiconductor substrate; and selectively removing the photoresist fromthe semiconductor substrate. For example, lithography can be used toform a pattern of protruding features before deposition of SnO layer onthe substrate.

In another aspect, a partially fabricated semiconductor device isprovided, wherein the device comprises an exposed layer of a firstmaterial (e.g., silicon oxide or silicon nitride) and a plurality of SnOspacers residing on the layer of the first material. In someembodiments, the distance between the spacers is between about 5-90 nm.

According to another aspect, an apparatus for deposition of SnO layer isprovided. The apparatus includes a process chamber having a substrateholder configured for holding the substrate in place during deposition,and an inlet for introduction of reactants. The apparatus furtherincludes a controller comprising program instructions for depositing theSnO layer according to methods provided herein.

According to another aspect, a system for processing a semiconductorsubstrate with the use of SnO spacers is provided. The system includesone or more deposition process chambers and one or more etch processchambers, and a controller comprising program instructions forprocessing the semiconductor substrate in accordance with the methodsprovided herein.

According to another aspect, a system is provided herein which includesany of the apparatuses or systems provided herein, and a stepper.

According to another aspect, a non-transitory computer machine-readablemedium is provided, which includes program instructions for control ofany of the apparatuses or systems provided herein. The instructionsinclude code for processing methods provided herein.

These and other aspects of implementations of the subject matterdescribed in this specification are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-6 show schematic cross-sectional views of a semiconductorsubstrate undergoing processing according to an embodiment describedherein.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram for a processing method according to anembodiment provided herein.

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram for a processing method according to anembodiment provided herein.

FIG. 9 is a schematic presentation of a plasma enhanced atomic layerdeposition (PEALD) process station that is suitable for deposition of aSnO layer according to an embodiment provided herein.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of a multi-station processing toolaccording to an embodiment provided herein.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a processing tool configured fordepositing and post-treating thin films according to an embodimentprovided herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific implementationsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of thedisclosed implementations. However, as will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art, the disclosed implementations may bepracticed without these specific details or by using alternate elementsor processes. In other instances well-known processes, procedures, andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarilyobscure aspects of the disclosed implementations.

In this application, the terms “semiconductor substrate” “wafer,”“substrate,” “wafer substrate” and “partially fabricated integratedcircuit” are used interchangeably. One of ordinary skill in the artwould understand that the term “partially fabricated integrated circuit”can refer to a silicon wafer during any of many stages of integratedcircuit fabrication thereon. Further, the term “semiconductor substrate”refers to a substrate that contains a semiconductor material anywherewithin the substrate, and may include layers of other materials. Thefollowing detailed description assumes the disclosed implementations areimplemented on a wafer. However, the disclosed implementations are notso limited. The work piece may be of various shapes, sizes, andmaterials. In addition to semiconductor wafers, other work pieces thatmay take advantage of the disclosed implementations include variousarticles such as printed circuit boards and the like.

Methods are herein provided for processing semiconductor substrate usingtin oxide (SnO) spacers. Tin oxide (also referred here to as SnO), asused herein, refers to materials that include tin (Sn) and oxygen (O),and may optionally include hydrogen. Tin oxide (SnO), as used herein,may further include small amounts of other elements, such as carbon, andnitrogen, where the total amount of other elements is 10 atomic % orless (where hydrogen is not included in the calculation of the content).For example ALD-deposited SnO can contain about 0.5-5 atomic % carbon.The term “SnO”, as used herein, does not indicate the stoichiometry ofoxide, which may vary. In some specific embodiments, the stoichiometryof SnO is about 1 tin atom per two oxygen atoms.

It is understood that other materials, discussed herein, such as silicon(Si), carbon (C), silicon oxide (SiO₂), and silicon nitride (SiN) mayoptionally include hydrogen. Other elements can be present in thesematerials in small amounts, such as with combined content of otherelements of 10 atomic % or less (excluding hydrogen). For example, theterm “silicon oxide” includes carbon-doped silicon oxide, and otherdoped forms of silicon oxide.

The use of tin oxide spacers is illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1-6,which provide schematic cross-sectional views of a semiconductorsubstrate at different stages of processing. FIGS. 7 and 8 provideprocess flow diagram for the semiconductor substrate processing methods.

Referring to FIG. 7, the process starts in 701, by providing a substratehaving an exposed layer of a first material and at least one protrudingfeature comprising a second material. The layer of the first material isreferred to as an etch stop layer (ESL), and the protruding feature isreferred to as a mandrel. An illustrative substrate is shown in FIG. 1,which shows two mandrels 101 residing on an ESL 103. The distance d1between the neighboring mandrels is, in some embodiments, between about10-100 nm. In some embodiments relatively larger distances of about40-100 nm are used. In other applications, the distance between closestmandrels is between about 10-30 nm. The distance between the centers ofclosest mandrels, d2, which is also referred to as pitch, is, in someembodiments, between about 30-130 nm. In some embodiments, the pitch isbetween about 80-130 nm. In other embodiments, the pitch is betweenabout 30-40 nm. The height of the mandrels d3 is typically between about20-200 nm, such as between about 50-100 nm.

The materials of the mandrel and of the ESL are selected such as toallow subsequent selective etching of the mandrel material in thepresence of exposed tin oxide, and selective etching of the ESL materialin the presence of exposed tin oxide. Thus, the ratio of the etch rateof the ESL material to the etch rate of tin oxide is greater than 1,more preferably greater than about 1.5, such as greater than about 2 fora first etch chemistry. Similarly, the ratio of the etch rate of themandrel material to the etch rate of tin oxide is greater than 1, morepreferably greater than about 1.5, such as greater than about 2 for asecond etch chemistry.

In some embodiments the ESL material is selected from the groupconsisting of silicon oxide based material, silicon nitride, andcombinations thereof, whereas the mandrel material is amorphous silicon(doped or undoped) or carbon (doped or undoped). Examples of dopantsthat are used for silicon and carbon include without limitation N, S, Band W. The ESL layer and the mandrels can be formed by physical vapordeposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ALD (without plasmaor by PEALD) or plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) andthe pattern of the mandrels can be defined using photolithographictechniques.

Referring again to the substrate shown in FIG. 1, the ESL layer 103resides over and in contact with the target layer 105. The target layer105 is the layer that needs to be patterned. The target layer 105 may bea semiconductor, dielectric or other layer and may be made of silicon(Si), silicon oxide (SiO₂), silicon nitride (SiN), or titanium nitride(TiN), for example. In some embodiments the target layer is referred toas a hardmask layer and includes metal nitride, such as titaniumnitride. The target layer 105 may be deposited by ALD (without plasma orby PEALD), CVD, or other suitable deposition technique.

The target layer 105 resides over and in contact with layer 107, whichis in some embodiments a BEOL layer, that includes a plurality of metallines embedded into a layer of dielectric material.

Referring again to FIG. 7, the process follows in 703 by depositing aSnO layer over both the first and second material. Referring to thestructure shown in FIG. 2, the SnO layer 109 is deposited over the ESL103, and over the mandrels 101, including the sidewalls of the mandrels.The SnO layer is deposited by any suitable method such as by CVD(including PECVD), ALD (including PEALD), sputtering, etc. In someembodiments it is preferable to deposit the SnO film conformally, suchthat it follows the surface of the layer 103 and the mandrels 101, asshown in FIG. 2. In some embodiments the SnO layer is depositedconformally to a thickness of between about 5-30 nm, such as betweenabout 10-20 nm. One of the suitable deposition methods of conformal SnOfilm is ALD. Thermal or plasma enhanced ALD can be used. In a typicalthermal ALD method, the substrate is provided to an ALD process chamberand is sequentially exposed to a tin-containing precursor, and anoxygen-containing reactant, where the tin-containing precursor and theoxygen containing reactant are allowed to react on the surface of thesubstrate to form SnO. The ALD process chamber is typically purged withan inert gas after the substrate is exposed to the tin-containingprecursor, and before the oxygen-containing reactant is admitted to theprocess chamber to prevent reaction in the bulk of the process chamber.Further, the ALD process chamber is typically purged with an inert gasafter the substrate has been treated with the oxygen-containingreactant. The sequential exposure is repeated for several cycles, e.g.,between about 10-100 cycles can be performed until the SnO layer havingdesired thickness is deposited. Examples of suitable tin-containingprecursors include halogenated tin-containing precursors (such as SnCl₄,and SnBr₄), and non-halogenated tin-containing precursors, such asorganotin compounds, which include alkyl substituted tin amides and thelike. Specific examples of alkyl substituted tin amides that aresuitable for ALD are tetrakis(dimethylamino) tin,tetrakis(ethylmethylamino) tin,N²,N³-di-tert-butyl-butane-2,3-diamino-tin(II) and(1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4, 5-dimethyl-(4R,5R)-1,3,2-diazastannolidin-2-ylidine. Oxygen-containing reactantsinclude without limitation oxygen, ozone, water, hydrogen peroxide, andNO. Mixtures of oxygen-containing reactants can also be used. Thedeposition conditions will vary depending on the choice of ALDreactants, where more reactive precursors will generally react at lowertemperatures than less reactive precursors. The processes typically willbe carried out at a temperature of between about 20-500° C., and at asub-atmospheric pressure. The temperature and pressure are selected suchthat the reactants remain in the gaseous form in the process chamber toavoid condensation. Each reactant is provided to the process chamber ina gaseous form either alone or mixed with a carrier gas, such as argon,helium, or nitrogen. The flow rates of these mixtures will depend on thesize of the process chamber, and are in some embodiments between about10-10,000 sccm.

A specific example of thermal ALD process conditions that are suitablefor depositing a conformal SnO layer provided herein is described in anarticle by Li et al. titled “Tin Oxide with Controlled Morphology andCrystallinity by Atomic Layer Deposition onto Graphene Nanosheets forEnhanced Lithium Storage” (Advanced Functional Materials, 2012, 22, 8,1647-1654) which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.The process includes sequentially and alternately exposing the substratein an ALD vacuum chamber to SnCl₄ (the tin-containing precursor) anddeionized water (the oxygen-containing reactant) at a temperature of200-400° C. In a specific example of an ALD cycle, a mixture of SnCl₄vapor with N₂ carrier gas is introduced into the ALD process chamber for0.5 seconds, and is then exposed to the substrate for 3 seconds. Nextthe ALD process chamber is purged with N₂ for 10 seconds to remove SnCl₄from the bulk of the process chamber, and a mixture of H₂O vapor with N₂carrier gas is flowed into the process chamber for 1 second and isexposed to the substrate for 3 seconds. Next, the ALD process chamber ispurged with N₂ and the cycle is repeated. The ALD process is performedat subatmospheric pressure (e.g., 0.4 Torr) and at a temperature of200-400° C.

Another example of thermal ALD process conditions that are suitable fordepositing SnO films in the methods provided herein, is given in anarticle by Du et al. titled “In situ Examination of Tin Oxide AtomicLayer Deposition using Quartz Crystal Microbalance and Fourier TransformInfrared Techniques” (J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 23, 581 (2005)), which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In this process thesubstrate is sequentially exposed to SnCl₄ and H₂O₂ in an ALD processchamber at a temperature of between about 150-430° C.

While the use of halogenated tin precursors in ALD is suitable in manyembodiments, in some embodiments it is more preferable to usenon-halogenated organotin precursors to avoid corrosion problems thatmay occur with the use of halogenated precursors such as SnCl₄. Examplesof suitable non-halogenated organotin precursors include alkylaminotin(alkylated tin amide) precursors, such as tetrakis(dimethylamino) tin.An example of a suitable thermal ALD deposition method that uses thisprecursor is provided in an article by Elam et al., titled “Atomic LayerDeposition of Tin Oxide Films using Tetrakis(dimethylamino) tin” (J.Vac. Sci. Technol. A 26, 244 (2008)), which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety. In this method the substrate is sequentiallyexposed in an ALD chamber to tetrakis(dimethylamino) tin and H₂O₂ at atemperature of between about 50-300° C. Advantageously, the use of thisprecursor allows deposition of SnO films at low temperatures of 100° C.or less. For example, SnO films can be deposited at 50° C. without theuse of plasma to enhance reaction rate. Another example of thermal ALDof SnO using tetrakis(dimethylamino) tin and H₂O₂ is provided in anarticle by Elam et al. titled “Atomic Layer Deposition of Indium TinOxide Thin Films Using Nonhalogenated Precursors” (J. Phys. Chem. C2008, 112, 1938-1945), which is herein incorporated by reference.

Another example of low temperature thermal ALD process with the use of areactive organotin precursor is provided in an article by Heo et al.,titled “Low temperature Atomic Layer Deposition of Tin Oxide” (Chem.Mater., 2010, 22(7) 4964-4973), which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety. In this deposition process (which is suitablefor depositing SnO films provided herein), the substrate is sequentiallyexposed in an ALD vacuum process chamber to N²,N³-di-tert-butyl-butane-2,3-diamino-tin(II) and 50% H₂O₂. Thesereactants are vaporized and each is provided to the process chambermixed with an N₂ carrier gas. The chamber is purged with N₂ after eachexposure of the substrate to a reactant. The deposition can be carriedout at a temperature of between about 50-150° C.

While hydrogen peroxide generally works well as an oxygen-containingreactant for formation of SnO in ALD processes, it may sometimes provideinsufficient control over SnO film growth due to H₂O₂ decomposition. Insome embodiments, a more stable oxygen-containing precursor, such as NO,is used. An example of suitable process conditions with the use of NO asan oxygen-containing reactant is provided in an article by Heo et al.,titled “Atomic Layer Deposition of Tin Oxide with Nitric Oxide as anOxidant Gas” (J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 4599), which is hereinincorporated by reference. The deposition involves exposing thesubstrate sequentially to a cyclic Sn(II) amide(1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4,5-dimethyl-(4R,5R)-1,3,2-diazastannolidin-2-ylidine and to NO at a temperature of about130-250° C.

In some embodiments, SnO films are deposited by PEALD. The same types oftin-containing precursors and oxygen-containing reactants as describedabove for thermal ALD can be used. In PEALD the ALD apparatus isequipped with a system for generating plasma in the process chamber, andfor treating the substrate with the plasma. In a typical PEALD processsequence, the substrate is provided to the PEALD process chamber and isexposed to the tin-containing precursor which adsorbs on the surface ofthe substrate. The process chamber is purged with an inert gas (e.g.,argon or helium) to remove the precursor from the process chamber, andthe substrate is exposed to an oxygen-containing reactant which isintroduced into the process chamber. Concurrently with the introductionof the oxygen-containing reactant or after a delay, plasma is formed inthe process chamber. The plasma facilitates the reaction between thetin-containing precursor and the oxygen-containing reactant on thesurface of the substrate that results in formation of SnO. Next, theprocess chamber is purged with an inert gas, and the cycle comprisingtin precursor dosing, purging, oxygen-containing reactant dosing, plasmatreatment, and second purging is repeated as many times as necessary toform a SnO film of desired thickness.

An example of process conditions that are suitable for PEALD formationof SnO film is provided in an article by Seop et al., titled “TheFabrication of Tin Oxide Films by Atomic Layer Deposition usingTetrakis(ethylmethylamino) tin Precursor” (Transactions on Electricaland Electronic Materials, 2009, 10, 5, 173-176), which is hereinincorporated by reference. The substrate is provided into a PEALDprocess chamber and is exposed to tetrakis(ethylmethylamino) tin in anabsence of plasma with an exposure of 4 seconds. Next, thetin-containing precursor is purged from the process chamber by flowingargon through the process chamber for 20 seconds. Then, O₂ is injectedfor 2 seconds with additional 2 seconds with radio frequency (RF) powerof 100 W. This is followed by an argon purge, which completes one PEALDcycle. In this example, the process is conducted at a temperature rangeof 50-200° C. and at a pressure of 0.8 Torr.

While ALD (both thermal and plasma enhanced) is one of preferred methodsfor depositing SnO films, it is understood that other SnO depositionmethods, such as CVD, PECVD, and sputtering can also be used.

Referring to the process diagram of FIG. 7, after the SnO layer has beendeposited, the process follows in 705 by forming SnO spacers on thesubstrate. Formation of SnO spacers is illustrated by FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.First, SnO layer 109 is etched from the horizontal surfaces over layer103 and over mandrels 101, without being fully etched from positionsthat adhere to the sidewalls of mandrels 101. This etch exposes thelayer 103 everywhere with the exception of locations near the sidewallsof the mandrels 101. Further, this etch exposes the top portions of themandrels. The resulting structure is shown in FIG. 3. The chemistry ofthis etch will depend on the type of materials that are used for layers101 and 103. The etch used for SnO layer removal in this step isselected such that the ratio of SnO etch rate to mandrel material etchrate is greater than 1, and such that the ratio of SnO etch rate tolayer 103 material etch rate is greater than 1. SnO can be etched usinga number of wet etching and dry etching techniques. In wet etching thesubstrate is contacted with the wet etchant, which can be, for example,sprayed onto the substrate. Alternatively, the substrate can be dippedinto the wet (aqueous) etchant. In dry etching the substrate ispositioned in a dry etch chamber, where the substrate is contacted witha gaseous etchant with or without the use of plasma. “Wet etching” asused herein refers to etching with liquid etchants, whereas “dryetching” refers to etching with gaseous (including vaporized) etchants,regardless of the use of water. One example of wet etching that issuitable for etching SnO is an acid etch, where the substrate iscontacted with an aqueous solution of an acid, such as HCl.

In one implementation of an HCl etch the substrate is contacted with anaqueous solution prepared from an aqueous solution of HCl and chromiummetal. This etching chemistry is described in an article by Wu et al.,titled “Texture Etched SnO₂ Glasses Applied to Silicon Thin-film SolarCells” (Journal of Nanomaterials, vol. 2014, 1-9), which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety. In this embodiment the SnOlayer is etched by a preformed mixture containing HCl and Cr(II) ions,which reduce Sn(IV) to Sn(II) and assist in dissolution of oxide. TheHCl:Cr etching solution is prepared in one implementation by dissolvingchromium metal (20 g) in 50% aqueous HCl solution (5 L) at 90° C. Thechromium concentration can vary from 0.05 to 1 wt %. The etching isperformed in some embodiments at a temperature range of 20-100° C.

In another example of a wet etching process the SnO layer is treatedwith aqueous HX (where X is Cl, Br, or I) in a presence of zinc powder.In this method the oxides are reduced directly by the hydrogen formed ina reaction of zinc with HX. In another wet etching embodiment, SnO isetched by aqueous phosphoric acid, e.g., provided at H₃PO₄:H₂O ratio of1:3. Further, SnO films can be etched by a mixture of aqueous HNO₃ andHCl or by aqueous HI at a temperature of about 60° C.

One example of dry etch chemistry for SnO removal includes treatmentwith HBr in a plasma. This treatment is described in an article by Kwonet al., titled “Etch Mechanism of In₂O₃ and SnO₂ thin films in HBr-basedinductively coupled plasmas” (J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 28, 226 (2010)),which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The substrateis treated with inductively coupled plasma formed in a process gascontaining HBr and argon.

In another embodiment, HBr-containing process gas further includes anoxygen-containing compound, such as O₂. In some embodiments, etching isperformed by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed in a process gascomprising HBr, O₂, and N₂. This type of etch can remove SnO materialselectively relative to materials, such as silicon, and silicon oxide.It is noted that the surface of the silicon mandrels is typicallycovered with a layer of silicon dioxide, which protects it from beingetched with this etch chemistry. In some embodiments, the processconditions of this etching step include applying a relatively high radiofrequency (RF) bias to the substrate holder, such as to increase theenergy of ions in the plasma and increase the etch rate of SnO material.Other dry etching chemistries that are suitable for SnO removal includeplasma treatment in a mixture of Cl₂ and hydrocarbon, and plasmatreatment in a process gas comprising chlorohydrocarbon, such as CH₂Cl₂or CHCl₃. In some embodiments, the substrate containing an exposed SnOlayer is contacted with a plasma formed in a process gas comprising CH₄and Cl₂.

Yet another suitable dry etching chemistry for removal of SnO films ishydrogen-based plasma. In some embodiments, SnO is etched by exposingthe substrate to a plasma formed in a process gas comprising H₂. In someembodiments plasma is formed in a process gas formed in a mixture of H₂and a hydrocarbon (e.g., CH₄).

In some embodiments removal of SnO layer from horizontal portions of thesubstrate involves using two steps with two different chemistries. In afirst step, referred to as the main etch, the bulk of SnO layer isremoved from horizontal surfaces, without fully exposing the underlyinglayers of mandrel and ESL materials. Etch chemistry of the main etch,therefore, does not need to be selective. In some embodiments the mainetch is performed by treating the substrate with a plasma formed in aprocess gas comprising Cl₂ and a hydrocarbon (e.g., Cl₂ and CH₄). Afterthe main etch etches through the SnO film or shortly before, the etchingchemistry is switched to an over etch chemistry. The endpoint for themain etch can be detected by using an optical probe, which will signalwhen the mandrel material or ESL material becomes exposed. Over etchchemistry is used to remove leftover SnO film without substantiallyetching the materials of mandrel and ESL. The ratio of the etch rate ofSnO to the etch rate of the mandrel material for the over etch chemistryis preferably greater than 1. The ratio of the etch rate of SnO to theetch rate of the ESL material for the over etch chemistry is alsopreferably greater than 1. In some embodiments (e.g., when siliconmandrel and silicon oxide ESL are used) the over etch includes exposingthe substrate having leftover SnO film, exposed mandrels and exposed ESLto a plasma formed in a process gas comprising HBr, N₂ and O₂.

The SnO etching in this step removes SnO from horizontal surfaces, butthe vertical portions of SnO layer at the sidewalls of the mandrelsremain on the substrate. Next, mandrels 101 are removed from thesubstrate leaving exposed SnO spacers 101 and an exposed ESL 103, asshown in FIG. 4. Removal of the mandrels is performed by exposing thesubstrate to an etch chemistry that selectively etches the mandrelmaterial. Thus, the ratio of the etch rate of the mandrel material tothe etch rate of the SnO in this step is greater than 1, and is morepreferably greater than 1.5. Further, the etch chemistry used in thisstep should selectively etch the mandrel material relative to ESLmaterial. A variety of etching methods can be used, and specific choiceof chemistry depends on the material of the mandrel and on the materialof the ESL layer. When the mandrel is made of amorphous silicon and theESL material is silicon oxide, mandrels can be removed by using anoxidative oxygen-containing plasma. For example, silicon mandrels can beselectively etched by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed in aprocess gas composed of HBr and O₂. This chemistry will selectively etchthe silicon material in a presence of SnO and silicon oxide. In someembodiments, before the etch starts, the thin protective layer ofsilicon oxide is removed from the surface of silicon mandrels. This canbe done by briefly exposing the substrate to a plasma formed in aprocess gas comprising a fluorocarbon. After removal of the protectivesilicon oxide layer from the mandrels, the silicon is selectivelyetched. In some embodiments, it is preferable to use a relatively smallRF bias, or no external bias at all for the substrate in this step. Ifno external bias is used, the self bias of the substrate (10-20 V) issufficient. Under no bias or low bias conditions, the HBr/O₂ plasma willselectively etch silicon in the presence of SnO and silicon oxide. Theresulting structure showing SnO spacers after removal of the mandrels isshown in FIG. 4.

Next, the exposed ESL film 103 is etched to expose the underlying targetlayer 105 at all positions that are not protected by the SnO spacers109. The resulting structure is shown in FIG. 5. The etch chemistry thatis used in this step selectively etches the ESL material in the presenceof SnO. In other words, the ratio of the etch rate of the ESL materialto the etch rate of SnO is greater than 1, and is more preferablygreater than 1.5. The specific type of chemistry used in this step willdepend on the type of the ESL material. When silicon oxide and siliconoxide based materials are used, selective etching can be accomplished byexposing the substrate to a plasma formed in a process gas comprising afluorocarbon. For example, the ESL film can be etched by a plasma formedin a process gas comprising one or more of CF₄, C₂F₆, and C₃F₈.

In the next step, the target layer 105 is etched at all positions thatare not protected by the ESL film 103, to expose the underlying layer107. The SnO spacers 109 are also removed in this etching step providinga patterned structure shown in FIG. 6. In some embodiments, the etchchemistry used in this step is selected to remove both the targetmaterial and the SnO spacer material. In other embodiments, twodifferent etching steps with different chemistries can be used topattern the target layer 105 and to remove SnO spacers 109 respectively.A number of etching chemistries can be used depending on the chemistryof the target layer. In one embodiment the target layer 105 is a metalnitride layer (e.g., a TiN) layer. In this embodiment the metal layer isetched, and the SnO spacers can be removed using a single etch chemistryby exposing the substrate to a plasma formed in a process gas comprisingCl₂ and a hydrocarbon (e.g., CH₄). Generally, SnO spacers can be removedusing any of SnO etching methods described above.

At any time during the described process sequence the etching and/ordeposition chambers can be cleaned from tin-containing particles byconverting them to volatile tin hydride, which can be easily removed bypurging and/or evacuation. In some embodiments this conversion isperformed by contacting the substrate with a plasma formed in ahydrogen-containing gas, such as H₂, NH₃ or mixtures thereof.

A specific example of semiconductor substrate patterning with the use ofSnO spacers is provided in a process flow diagram of FIG. 8. Referencewill be made to the device structures shown in FIGS. 1-6. The processstarts in 801 by providing a substrate having an exposed layercomprising a silicon oxide layer and a plurality of protruding siliconfeatures. In this example, referring to FIG. 1, the substrate includesan exposed silicon oxide layer 103 and a plurality of protrudingfeatures (mandrels) 101 made of amorphous silicon. A hardmask layer 105resides below the silicon oxide layer 103. In this example the hardmasklayer is made from titanium nitride. The hardmask layer 105 overlies theBEOL layer 107.

Next in operation 803, a SnO layer is deposited conformally over boththe silicon oxide layer and the silicon protruding features. In someembodiments, conformal deposition is performed by ALD (thermal or plasmaassisted), as it was previously described. FIG. 2 illustrates aconformal SnO layer 109 covering the surface of silicon mandrels andsilicon oxide layer. In operation 805 SnO residing on the horizontalsurfaces is removed, without removing SnO layer residing on thesidewalls of the silicon protruding features. In this example, removalis performed by two-step etching. In a first step, main etch isperformed, by exposing the substrate shown in FIG. 2 to a plasma formedin a process gas comprising Cl₂ and CH₄. Next after most of SnO film isremoved from horizontal surfaces, the leftover SnO film is removed fromhorizontal surfaces by exposing the substrate to an over etch chemistry,which includes plasma formed in a process gas composed of HBr, O₂, andN₂. This step is performed with application of relatively high bias tothe substrate pedestal. The silicon mandrels are covered with aprotective layer of silicon oxide during this step, which is notappreciably etched by this chemistry. The resulting structure is shownin FIG. 3, where the silicon oxide layer 103 and the silicon mandrels101 are exposed.

Next, in operation 807, the silicon protruding features are removed andSnO spacers are thereby formed as shown in FIG. 4. In this example thesilicon mandrels are selectively etched by exposing the substrate to aplasma formed in a process gas composed of HBr and O₂ without biasingthe substrate, or by using a lower bias than the bias used in theHBr/O₂/N₂ etch of the SnO layer. In some embodiments, prior to removalof silicon mandrels, the protective silicon oxide layer is etched fromthe surface of the silicon, for example by briefly exposing thesubstrate to a plasma formed in a process gas comprising a fluorocarbon.

In the subsequent step 809, the exposed silicon oxide layer is removedand the underlying hardmask layer is exposed. The silicon oxide isselectively etched by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed in aprocess gas comprising one or more fluorocarbons.

After this step, the etching process chamber, where the fluorocarbonetch was performed can be cleaned to remove any particles containingtin. For example, tin fluoride can inadvertently be deposited on thesurfaces of the chamber. After the substrate is removed from the processchamber, a hydrogen containing gas, such as H₂, NH₃ or a mixture ofthese gases is flowed into the process chamber to convert thetin-containing particles to volatile tin hydride. The cleaning isperformed in one example by forming a plasma in this process gas. Inother embodiments, the chamber is exposed to H₂ in an absence of plasma.The substrate obtained after removal of the silicon oxide layer is shownin FIG. 5, which shows the exposed hardmask layer 105. Next in theoperation 811, the exposed hardmask layer and the SnO spacers areremoved. In one example the TiN hardmask and the SnO layer are formed byexposing the substrate shown in FIG. 5 to a plasma formed in a processgas composed of Cl₂ and CH₄.

Tin oxide compares favorably to other spacer materials, such as TiO₂ andSiO₂, because it is characterized be a relatively high modulus whichcorrelates with desirable etch selectivity properties. The modulus ofbulk tin (II) oxide is 360 GPa, which is greater than the modulus oftitanium dioxide (210 GPa) and of silicon dioxide (70 GPa). Therefore,problems related to low etch selectivity, such as pitch walking areaddressed by using SnO spacers. Furthermore, tin hydride has a meltingpoint of −52° C., whereas melting point of titanium hydride is greaterthan 350° C. When titanium oxide is used as a spacer material it is notpossible to clean process chambers by converting titanium-containingparticles (e.g., titanium chloride or fluoride) to titanium hydride,because titanium hydride is not volatile. In contrast, when tin oxide isused as spacer material, the process chambers can be easily cleaned byconverting tin-containing particles to a volatile tin hydride that canbe purged from the process chambers.

Apparatus

Another aspect of the implementations disclosed herein is an apparatusand a system configured to accomplish the methods described herein. Asuitable apparatus includes hardware for accomplishing the processoperations and a system controller having instructions for controllingprocess operations in accordance with the disclosed implementations. Insome embodiments, a deposition apparatus for depositing the SnO layer isprovided. In some embodiments this is an ALD apparatus (e.g., a PEALDapparatus). In other embodiments it may be a CVD apparatus, or asputtering apparatus that includes a tin oxide target. The apparatusincludes a process chamber, a support for holding the substrate in placeduring the deposition, an inlet for flowing process gasses into theprocess chamber, and may also include a system for forming a plasma inthe process chamber. Further, the apparatus includes a controller havingprogram instructions for depositing the SnO layer, according to methodsprovided herein.

The dry etching operations provided herein can be performed in a varietyof apparatuses that are equipped with delivery lines and controlmechanisms configured for delivery of gaseous reagents. Examples ofsuitable process chambers include plasma etch chambers, RIE chambers,isotropic etch chambers, as well as resist strip chambers. In someembodiments the dry etch apparatus includes a process chamber housing asupport for holding the substrate, and delivery lines for delivering oneor more process gasses to the process chamber. In some embodiments theapparatus further includes a system for generating a plasma in theprocess gas. The process chamber may further include a controllercomprising program instructions for performing the etching. Theinstructions may include the instructions for delivery of the processgas, setting the temperature and pressure in the process chamber, andinstructions on plasma parameters.

The wet etching operations provided herein can be performed in variousapparatuses configured for delivering wet etchant onto a substrate.These may be configured for dipping the substrate in a liquid etchant,spraying or streaming the etchant onto the substrate or for othermethods of contact. In some embodiments the apparatus includes a supportfor holding the substrate in place during etchant delivery, where thesupport may be configured for rotating the substrate, and one or moredelivery ports (e.g., nozzles) configured to spray or stream the liquidetchant onto the substrate. The apparatus may further include acontroller with program instructions for the wet etching process.

In another aspect, a system is provided, where the system includes adeposition chamber configured for depositing SnO layer, and one or moreetching chambers (such as RIE chambers, wet etching chambers) configuredfor etching one or more materials on the substrate. The system furtherincludes a controller having program instructions for depositing SnOlayer and for forming SnO spacers according to methods disclosed herein.

PEALD apparatus will now be described as an example of an apparatus thatis suitable for deposition of SnO layers, according to methods providedherein.

In some embodiments the conformal deposition of the SnO layer isconducted in a PEALD reactor which is a part of a Vector Exceldeposition module available from Lam Research Corp. of Fremont, Calif. Asuitable process chamber includes a support for holding the wafersubstrate during deposition (wafer pedestal), a generator for formingplasma in the process chamber, and conduits for delivering thecomponents of the process gas (tin-containing precursor,oxygen-containing reactant, a carrier gas, etc.) to the process chamber.The apparatus is further configured for purging and/or evacuating theprocess chamber, and for maintaining a desired pressure and temperaturein the process chamber during deposition.

Examples of PEALD process chambers are described in U.S. Pat. No.6,416,822, U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,859, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,747,964 whichare herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIG. 9 schematically shows an embodiment of a PEALD process station 900that may be used to deposit provided SnO films. For simplicity, theprocess station 900 is depicted as a standalone process station having aprocess chamber body 902 for maintaining a low-pressure environment.However, it will be appreciated that a plurality of process stations 900may be included in a common process tool environment. Further, it willbe appreciated that, in some embodiments, one or more hardwareparameters of process station 900, including those discussed in detailbelow, may be adjusted programmatically by one or more computercontrollers.

Process station 900 fluidly communicates with reactant delivery system901 for delivering process gases to a distribution showerhead 906.Reactant delivery system 901 includes a mixing vessel 904 for blendingand/or conditioning process gases for delivery to showerhead 906. One ormore mixing vessel inlet valves 920 may control introduction of processgases to mixing vessel 904. Similarly, a showerhead inlet valve 905 maycontrol introduction of process gasses to the showerhead 906.

Some reactants may be stored in liquid form prior to vaporization at andsubsequent delivery to the process station. For example, the embodimentof FIG. 9 includes a vaporization point 903 for vaporizing liquidreactant to be supplied to mixing vessel 904. In some embodiments,vaporization point 903 may be a heated vaporizer. The reactant vaporproduced from such vaporizers may condense in downstream deliverypiping. Exposure of incompatible gases to the condensed reactant maycreate small particles. These small particles may clog piping, impedevalve operation, contaminate substrates, etc. Some approaches toaddressing these issues involve sweeping and/or evacuating the deliverypiping to remove residual reactant. However, sweeping the deliverypiping may increase process station cycle time, degrading processstation throughput. Thus, in some embodiments, delivery pipingdownstream of vaporization point 903 may be heat traced. In someexamples, mixing vessel 904 may also be heat traced. In one non-limitingexample, piping downstream of vaporization point 903 has an increasingtemperature profile extending from approximately 100° C. toapproximately 150° C. at mixing vessel 904.

In some embodiments, reactant liquid may be vaporized at a liquidinjector. For example, a liquid injector may inject pulses of a liquidreactant into a carrier gas stream upstream of the mixing vessel. In onescenario, a liquid injector may vaporize reactant by flashing the liquidfrom a higher pressure to a lower pressure. In another scenario, aliquid injector may atomize the liquid into dispersed microdroplets thatare subsequently vaporized in a heated delivery pipe. It will beappreciated that smaller droplets may vaporize faster than largerdroplets, reducing a delay between liquid injection and completevaporization. Faster vaporization may reduce a length of pipingdownstream from vaporization point 903. In one scenario, a liquidinjector may be mounted directly to mixing vessel 904. In anotherscenario, a liquid injector may be mounted directly to showerhead 906.

In some embodiments, a liquid flow controller upstream of vaporizationpoint 903 may be provided for controlling a mass flow of liquid forvaporization and delivery to process station 900. For example, theliquid flow controller (LFC) may include a thermal mass flow meter (MFM)located downstream of the LFC. A plunger valve of the LFC may then beadjusted responsive to feedback control signals provided by aproportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller in electricalcommunication with the MFM. However, it may take one second or more tostabilize liquid flow using feedback control. This may extend a time fordosing a liquid reactant. Thus, in some embodiments, the LFC may bedynamically switched between a feedback control mode and a directcontrol mode. In some embodiments, the LFC may be dynamically switchedfrom a feedback control mode to a direct control mode by disabling asense tube of the LFC and the PID controller.

Showerhead 906 distributes process gases toward substrate 912. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 9, substrate 912 is located beneath showerhead906, and is shown resting on a pedestal 908. It will be appreciated thatshowerhead 906 may have any suitable shape, and may have any suitablenumber and arrangement of ports for distributing processes gases tosubstrate 912.

In some embodiments, a microvolume 907 is located beneath showerhead906. Performing an ALD process in a microvolume rather than in theentire volume of a process station may reduce reactant exposure andsweep times, may reduce times for altering process conditions (e.g.,pressure, temperature, etc.), may limit an exposure of process stationrobotics to process gases, etc. Example microvolume sizes include, butare not limited to, volumes between 0.1 liter and 2 liters. Thismicrovolume also impacts productivity throughput. While deposition rateper cycle drops, the cycle time also simultaneously reduces. In certaincases, the effect of the latter is dramatic enough to improve overallthroughput of the module for a given target thickness of film.

In some embodiments, pedestal 908 may be raised or lowered to exposesubstrate 912 to microvolume 907 and/or to vary a volume of microvolume907. For example, in a substrate transfer phase, pedestal 908 may belowered to allow substrate 912 to be loaded onto pedestal 908. During adeposition process phase, pedestal 908 may be raised to positionsubstrate 912 within microvolume 907. In some embodiments, microvolume907 may completely enclose substrate 912 as well as a portion ofpedestal 908 to create a region of high flow impedance during adeposition process.

Optionally, pedestal 908 may be lowered and/or raised during portions ofthe deposition process to modulate process pressure, reactantconcentration, etc., within microvolume 907. In one scenario whereprocess chamber body 902 remains at a base pressure during thedeposition process, lowering pedestal 908 may allow microvolume 907 tobe evacuated. Example ratios of microvolume to process chamber volumeinclude, but are not limited to, volume ratios between 1:900 and 1:10.It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, pedestal height may beadjusted programmatically by a suitable computer controller.

In another scenario, adjusting a height of pedestal 908 may allow aplasma density to be varied during plasma activation and/or treatmentcycles included in the deposition process. At the conclusion of thedeposition process phase, pedestal 908 may be lowered during anothersubstrate transfer phase to allow removal of substrate 912 from pedestal908.

While the example microvolume variations described herein refer to aheight-adjustable pedestal, it will be appreciated that, in someembodiments, a position of showerhead 906 may be adjusted relative topedestal 908 to vary a volume of microvolume 907. Further, it will beappreciated that a vertical position of pedestal 908 and/or showerhead906 may be varied by any suitable mechanism within the scope of thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, pedestal 908 may include arotational axis for rotating an orientation of substrate 912. It will beappreciated that, in some embodiments, one or more of these exampleadjustments may be performed programmatically by one or more suitablecomputer controllers.

Returning to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, showerhead 906 and pedestal908 electrically communicate with RF power supply 914 and matchingnetwork 916 for powering a plasma. In some embodiments, the plasmaenergy may be controlled by controlling one or more of a process stationpressure, a gas concentration, an RF source power, an RF sourcefrequency, and a plasma power pulse timing. For example, RF power supply914 and matching network 916 may be operated at any suitable power toform a plasma having a desired composition of radical species. Examplesof suitable powers are included above. Likewise, RF power supply 914 mayprovide RF power of any suitable frequency. In some embodiments, RFpower supply 914 may be configured to control high- and low-frequency RFpower sources independently of one another. Example low-frequency RFfrequencies may include, but are not limited to, frequencies between 50kHz and 900 kHz. Example high-frequency RF frequencies may include, butare not limited to, frequencies between 1.8 MHz and 2.45 GHz. It will beappreciated that any suitable parameters may be modulated discretely orcontinuously to provide plasma energy for the surface reactions. In onenon-limiting example, the plasma power may be intermittently pulsed toreduce ion bombardment with the substrate surface relative tocontinuously powered plasmas.

In some embodiments, the plasma may be monitored in-situ by one or moreplasma monitors. In one scenario, plasma power may be monitored by oneor more voltage, current sensors (e.g., VI probes). In another scenario,plasma density and/or process gas concentration may be measured by oneor more optical emission spectroscopy sensors (OES). In someembodiments, one or more plasma parameters may be programmaticallyadjusted based on measurements from such in-situ plasma monitors. Forexample, an OES sensor may be used in a feedback loop for providingprogrammatic control of plasma power. It will be appreciated that, insome embodiments, other monitors may be used to monitor the plasma andother process characteristics. Such monitors may include, but are notlimited to, infrared (IR) monitors, acoustic monitors, and pressuretransducers.

In some embodiments, the plasma may be controlled via input/outputcontrol (IOC) sequencing instructions. In one example, the instructionsfor setting plasma conditions for a plasma process phase may be includedin a corresponding plasma activation recipe phase of a depositionprocess recipe. In some cases, process recipe phases may be sequentiallyarranged, so that all instructions for a deposition process phase areexecuted concurrently with that process phase. In some embodiments,instructions for setting one or more plasma parameters may be includedin a recipe phase preceding a plasma process phase. For example, a firstrecipe phase may include instructions for setting a flow rate of theprocess gas and/or its individual components, instructions for setting aplasma generator to a power set point, and time delay instructions forthe first recipe phase. A second, subsequent recipe phase may includeinstructions for enabling the plasma generator and time delayinstructions for the second recipe phase. A third recipe phase mayinclude instructions for disabling the plasma generator and time delayinstructions for the third recipe phase. It will be appreciated thatthese recipe phases may be further subdivided and/or iterated in anysuitable way within the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, pedestal 908 may be temperature controlled viaheater 910. Further, in some embodiments, pressure control fordeposition process station 900 may be provided by butterfly valve 918.As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 9, butterfly valve 918 throttles avacuum provided by a downstream vacuum pump (not shown). However, insome embodiments, pressure control of process station 900 may also beadjusted by varying a flow rate of one or more gases introduced toprocess station 900.

In some embodiments, the substrates provided herein are processed in amulti-station tool. FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of amulti-station processing tool 1000 with an inbound load lock 1002 and anoutbound load lock 1004, either or both of which may comprise a remoteplasma source. A robot 1006, at atmospheric pressure, is configured tomove wafers from a cassette loaded through a pod 1008 into inbound loadlock 1002 via an atmospheric port 1010. A wafer is placed by the robot1006 on a pedestal 1012 in the inbound load lock 1002, the atmosphericport 1010 is closed, and the load lock is pumped down. Where the inboundload lock 1002 comprises a remote plasma source, the wafer may beexposed to a remote plasma treatment in the load lock prior to beingintroduced into a processing chamber 1014. Further, the wafer also maybe heated in the inbound load lock 1002 as well, for example, to removemoisture and adsorbed gases. Next, a chamber transport port 1016 toprocessing chamber 1014 is opened, and another robot (not shown) placesthe wafer into the reactor on a pedestal of a first station shown in thereactor for processing.

The depicted processing chamber 1014 comprises four process stations,numbered from 1 to 4 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10. Each stationhas a heated pedestal (shown at 1018 for station 1), and gas lineinlets. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, each processstation may have different or multiple purposes. While the depictedprocessing chamber 1014 comprises four stations, it will be understoodthat a processing chamber according to the present disclosure may haveany suitable number of stations. For example, in some embodiments, aprocessing chamber may have five or more stations, while in otherembodiments a processing chamber may have three or fewer stations.

FIG. 10 also depicts an embodiment of a wafer handling system 1090 fortransferring wafers within processing chamber 1014. In some embodiments,wafer handling system 1090 may transfer wafers between various processstations and/or between a process station and a load lock. It will beappreciated that any suitable wafer handling system may be employed.Non-limiting examples include wafer carousels and wafer handling robots.FIG. 10 also depicts an embodiment of a system controller 1050 employedto control process conditions and hardware states of process tool 1000.System controller 1050 may include one or more memory devices 1056, oneor more mass storage devices 1054, and one or more processors 1052.Processor 1052 may include a CPU or computer, analog and/or digitalinput/output connections, stepper motor controller boards, etc.

In some embodiments, system controller 1050 controls all of theactivities of process tool 1000. System controller 1050 executes systemcontrol software 1058 stored in mass storage device 1054, loaded intomemory device 1056, and executed on processor 1052. System controlsoftware 1058 may include instructions for controlling the timing,mixture of gases, chamber and/or station pressure, chamber and/orstation temperature, purge conditions and timing, wafer temperature, RFpower levels, RF frequencies, substrate, pedestal, chuck and/orsusceptor position, and other parameters of a particular processperformed by process tool 1000. System control software 1058 may beconfigured in any suitable way. For example, various process toolcomponent subroutines or control objects may be written to controloperation of the process tool components necessary to carry out variousprocess tool processes in accordance with the disclosed methods. Systemcontrol software 1058 may be coded in any suitable computer readableprogramming language.

In some embodiments, system control software 1058 may includeinput/output control (IOC) sequencing instructions for controlling thevarious parameters described above. For example, each phase of a PEALDprocess may include one or more instructions for execution by systemcontroller 1050.

Other computer software and/or programs stored on mass storage device1054 and/or memory device 1056 associated with system controller 1050may be employed in some embodiments. Examples of programs or sections ofprograms for this purpose include a substrate positioning program, aprocess gas control program, a pressure control program, a heatercontrol program, and a plasma control program.

A substrate positioning program may include program code for processtool components that are used to load the substrate onto pedestal 1018and to control the spacing between the substrate and other parts ofprocess tool 1000.

A process gas control program may include code for controlling gascomposition and flow rates and optionally for flowing gas into one ormore process stations prior to deposition in order to stabilize thepressure in the process station. The process gas control program mayinclude code for controlling gas composition and flow rates within anyof the disclosed ranges. A pressure control program may include code forcontrolling the pressure in the process station by regulating, forexample, a throttle valve in the exhaust system of the process station,a gas flow into the process station, etc. The pressure control programmay include code for maintaining the pressure in the process stationwithin any of the disclosed pressure ranges.

A heater control program may include code for controlling the current toa heating unit that is used to heat the substrate. Alternatively, theheater control program may control delivery of a heat transfer gas (suchas helium) to the substrate. The heater control program may includeinstructions to maintain the temperature of the substrate within any ofthe disclosed ranges.

A plasma control program may include code for setting RF power levelsand frequencies applied to the process electrodes in one or more processstations, for example using any of the RF power levels disclosed herein.The plasma control program may also include code for controlling theduration of each plasma exposure.

In some embodiments, there may be a user interface associated withsystem controller 1050. The user interface may include a display screen,graphical software displays of the apparatus and/or process conditions,and user input devices such as pointing devices, keyboards, touchscreens, microphones, etc.

In some embodiments, parameters adjusted by system controller 1050 mayrelate to process conditions. Non-limiting examples include process gascomposition and flow rates, temperature, pressure, plasma conditions(such as RF power levels, frequency, and exposure time), etc. Theseparameters may be provided to the user in the form of a recipe, whichmay be entered utilizing the user interface.

Signals for monitoring the process may be provided by analog and/ordigital input connections of system controller 1050 from various processtool sensors. The signals for controlling the process may be output onthe analog and digital output connections of process tool 1000.Non-limiting examples of process tool sensors that may be monitoredinclude mass flow controllers, pressure sensors (such as manometers),thermocouples, etc. Appropriately programmed feedback and controlalgorithms may be used with data from these sensors to maintain processconditions.

Any suitable chamber may be used to implement the disclosed embodiments.Example deposition apparatuses include, but are not limited to,apparatus from the ALTUS® product family, the VECTOR® product family,and/or the SPEED® product family, each available from Lam ResearchCorp., of Fremont, Calif., or any of a variety of other commerciallyavailable processing systems. Two or more of the stations may performthe same functions. Similarly, two or more stations may performdifferent functions. Each station can be designed/configured to performa particular function/method as desired.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a processing system suitable forconducting thin film deposition process in accordance with certainembodiments. The system 1100 includes a transfer module 1103. Thetransfer module 1103 provides a clean, pressurized environment tominimize risk of contamination of substrates being processed as they aremoved between various reactor modules. Mounted on the transfer module1103 are two multi-station reactors 1109 and 1110, each capable ofperforming atomic layer deposition (ALD) and/or chemical vapordeposition (CVD) according to certain embodiments. In other embodimentsone reactor may contain stations configured to perform ALD and anotherreactor may include stations configured to perform etching. Reactors1109 and 1110 may include multiple stations 1111, 1113, 1115, and 1117that may sequentially or non-sequentially perform operations inaccordance with disclosed embodiments. The stations may include a heatedpedestal or substrate support, one or more gas inlets or showerhead ordispersion plate.

Also mounted on the transfer module 1103 may be one or more single ormulti-station modules 1107 capable of performing plasma or chemical(non-plasma) pre-cleans, or any other processes described in relation tothe disclosed methods. The module 1107 may in some cases be used forvarious treatments to, for example, prepare a substrate for a depositionprocess. The module 1107 may also be designed/configured to performvarious other processes such as etching or polishing. The system 1100also includes one or more wafer source modules 1101, where wafers arestored before and after processing. An atmospheric robot (not shown) inthe atmospheric transfer chamber 1119 may first remove wafers from thesource modules 1101 to loadlocks 1121. A wafer transfer device(generally a robot arm unit) in the transfer module 1103 moves thewafers from loadlocks 1121 to and among the modules mounted on thetransfer module 1103.

In various embodiments, a system controller 1129 is employed to controlprocess conditions during deposition. The controller 1129 will typicallyinclude one or more memory devices and one or more processors. Aprocessor may include a CPU or computer, analog and/or digitalinput/output connections, stepper motor controller boards, etc.

The controller 1129 may control all of the activities of the depositionapparatus. The system controller 1129 executes system control software,including sets of instructions for controlling the timing, mixture ofgases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, wafer temperature, radiofrequency (RF) power levels, wafer chuck or pedestal position, and otherparameters of a particular process. Other computer programs stored onmemory devices associated with the controller 1129 may be employed insome embodiments.

Typically there will be a user interface associated with the controller1129. The user interface may include a display screen, graphicalsoftware displays of the apparatus and/or process conditions, and userinput devices such as pointing devices, keyboards, touch screens,microphones, etc.

System control logic may be configured in any suitable way. In general,the logic can be designed or configured in hardware and/or software. Theinstructions for controlling the drive circuitry may be hard coded orprovided as software. The instructions may be provided by “programming.”Such programming is understood to include logic of any form, includinghard coded logic in digital signal processors, application-specificintegrated circuits, and other devices which have specific algorithmsimplemented as hardware. Programming is also understood to includesoftware or firmware instructions that may be executed on a generalpurpose processor. System control software may be coded in any suitablecomputer readable programming language.

The computer program code for controlling the germanium-containingreducing agent pulses, hydrogen flow, and tungsten-containing precursorpulses, and other processes in a process sequence can be written in anyconventional computer readable programming language: for example,assembly language, C, C++, Pascal, Fortran, or others. Compiled objectcode or script is executed by the processor to perform the tasksidentified in the program. Also as indicated, the program code may behard coded.

The controller parameters relate to process conditions, such as, forexample, process gas composition and flow rates, temperature, pressure,cooling gas pressure, substrate temperature, and chamber walltemperature. These parameters are provided to the user in the form of arecipe, and may be entered utilizing the user interface. Signals formonitoring the process may be provided by analog and/or digital inputconnections of the system controller 1129. The signals for controllingthe process are output on the analog and digital output connections ofthe deposition apparatus 1100.

The system software may be designed or configured in many differentways. For example, various chamber component subroutines or controlobjects may be written to control operation of the chamber componentsnecessary to carry out the deposition processes (and other processes, insome cases) in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. Examples ofprograms or sections of programs for this purpose include substratepositioning code, process gas control code, pressure control code, andheater control code.

In some implementations, a controller 1129 is part of a system, whichmay be part of the above-described examples. Such systems can includesemiconductor processing equipment, including a processing tool ortools, chamber or chambers, a platform or platforms for processing,and/or specific processing components (a wafer pedestal, a gas flowsystem, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronics forcontrolling their operation before, during, and after processing of asemiconductor wafer or substrate. The electronics may be referred to asthe “controller,” which may control various components or subparts ofthe system or systems. The controller 1129, depending on the processingrequirements and/or the type of system, may be programmed to control anyof the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of processinggases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and/or cooling), pressuresettings, vacuum settings, power settings, radio frequency (RF)generator settings in some systems, RF matching circuit settings,frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings,positional and operation settings, wafer transfers into and out of atool and other transfer tools and/or load locks connected to orinterfaced with a specific system.

Broadly speaking, the controller may be defined as electronics havingvarious integrated circuits, logic, memory, and/or software that receiveinstructions, issue instructions, control operation, enable cleaningoperations, enable endpoint measurements, and the like. The integratedcircuits may include chips in the form of firmware that store programinstructions, digital signal processors (DSPs), chips defined asapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or one or moremicroprocessors, or microcontrollers that execute program instructions(e.g., software). Program instructions may be instructions communicatedto the controller in the form of various individual settings (or programfiles), defining operational parameters for carrying out a particularprocess on or for a semiconductor wafer or to a system. The operationalparameters may, in some embodiments, be part of a recipe defined byprocess engineers to accomplish one or more processing steps during thefabrication of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon,silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and/or dies of a wafer.

The controller, in some implementations, may be a part of or coupled toa computer that is integrated with, coupled to the system, otherwisenetworked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, thecontroller may be in the “cloud” or all or a part of a fab host computersystem, which can allow for remote access of the wafer processing. Thecomputer may enable remote access to the system to monitor currentprogress of fabrication operations, examine a history of pastfabrication operations, examine trends or performance metrics from aplurality of fabrication operations, to change parameters of currentprocessing, to set processing steps to follow a current processing, orto start a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g. aserver) can provide process recipes to a system over a network, whichmay include a local network or the Internet. The remote computer mayinclude a user interface that enables entry or programming of parametersand/or settings, which are then communicated to the system from theremote computer. In some examples, the controller receives instructionsin the form of data, which specify parameters for each of the processingsteps to be performed during one or more operations. It should beunderstood that the parameters may be specific to the type of process tobe performed and the type of tool that the controller is configured tointerface with or control. Thus as described above, the controller maybe distributed, such as by comprising one or more discrete controllersthat are networked together and working towards a common purpose, suchas the processes and controls described herein. An example of adistributed controller for such purposes would be one or more integratedcircuits on a chamber in communication with one or more integratedcircuits located remotely (such as at the platform level or as part of aremote computer) that combine to control a process on the chamber.

Without limitation, example systems may include a plasma etch chamber ormodule, a deposition chamber or module, a spin-rinse chamber or module,a metal plating chamber or module, a clean chamber or module, a beveledge etch chamber or module, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamberor module, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber or module, anatomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber or module, an atomic layer etch(ALE) chamber or module, an ion implantation chamber or module, a trackchamber or module, and any other semiconductor processing systems thatmay be associated or used in the fabrication and/or manufacturing ofsemiconductor wafers.

As noted above, depending on the process step or steps to be performedby the tool, the controller might communicate with one or more of othertool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, othertool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools locatedthroughout a factory, a main computer, another controller, or tools usedin material transport that bring containers of wafers to and from toollocations and/or load ports in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

Further Implementations

The apparatus and processes described herein may be used in conjunctionwith lithographic patterning tools or processes, for example, for thefabrication or manufacture of semiconductor devices, displays, LEDs,photovoltaic panels, and the like. Typically, though not necessarily,such apparatus and processes will be used or conducted together in acommon fabrication facility. Lithographic patterning of a film typicallycomprises some or all of the following steps, each step enabled with anumber of possible tools: (1) application of photoresist on a workpiece, i.e., a substrate, using a spin-on or spray-on tool; (2) curingof photoresist using a hot plate or furnace or UV curing tool; (3)exposing the photoresist to visible or UV or x-ray light with a toolsuch as a wafer stepper; (4) developing the resist so as to selectivelyremove resist and thereby pattern it using a tool such as a wet bench;(5) transferring the resist pattern into an underlying film or workpiece by using a dry or plasma-assisted etching tool; and (6) removingthe resist using a tool such as an RF or microwave plasma resiststripper.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a semiconductor substrate,the method comprising: (a) providing a semiconductor substrate having anexposed layer comprising a first material and at least one protrudingfeature comprising a second material that is different from the firstmaterial; and (b) depositing a SnO₂ layer over both the first materialand the second material, including sidewalls of the at least oneprotruding feature, wherein the first material and the second materialare selected such that a ratio of an etch rate of the first material toan etch rate of SnO₂ is greater than 1 for a first etch chemistry, and aratio of an etch rate of the second material to an etch rate of SnO₂ isgreater than 1 for a second etch chemistry; (c) after depositing theSnO₂ layer, completely removing the SnO₂ layer from horizontal surfacesof the semiconductor substrate without completely removing the SnO₂layer covering the sidewalls of the at least one protrusion; and (d)after removing the SnO₂ layer from horizontal surfaces of thesemiconductor substrate, completely removing the at least one protrusionusing the second etch chemistry, without completely removing the SnO₂layer that was covering the sidewalls of the at least one protrusion,thereby forming SnO₂ spacers.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the SnO₂layer is deposited conformally.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theSnO₂ layer is deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD).
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the SnO₂ layer is deposited to a thickness ofbetween about 5-30 nm.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the SnO₂ layeris deposited to a thickness of between about 10-20 nm.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first material comprises a material selected fromthe group consisting of silicon oxide and silicon nitride.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the second material comprises a material selectedfrom the group consisting of amorphous silicon and carbon.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first material comprises silicon oxide and thefirst etch chemistry is a plasma fluorocarbon etch.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the second material comprises amorphous silicon, andthe second etch chemistry comprises oxygen-containing oxidativechemistry.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second chemistry is aplasma etch, wherein the plasma is formed in a process gas comprisingHBr and O₂.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: (e) afterforming the SnO₂ spacers, removing exposed portions of the firstmaterial using the first etch chemistry, without completely removing theSnO₂ spacers, thereby exposing portions of a hardmask layer underlyingthe first material layer.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: (f) after (e), removing both the SnO₂ layer and exposedportions of the hardmask layer without completely removing the layer offirst material that resided below the SnO₂ layer.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein (e) comprises exposing the substrate to a plasmafluorocarbon etch.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingcleaning an etch chamber by forming a plasma in a process gas comprisinga hydrogen-containing gas, after (e) to form volatile tin hydride. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein the hydrogen-containing gas is H₂ and/orNH₃.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substratecomprises a plurality of protruding features comprising the secondmaterial, wherein distance between closest protruding features isbetween about 10-100 nm.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein thesemiconductor substrate comprises a plurality of protruding featurescomprising the second material, wherein distance between closestprotruding features is between about 40-100 nm.
 18. The method of claim1, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a plurality ofprotruding features comprising the second material, wherein distancebetween closest protruding features is between about 10-30 nm.
 19. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first material comprises a materialselected from the group consisting of silicon oxide and silicon nitrideand the second material comprises a material selected from the groupconsisting of amorphous silicon and carbon.